What CMS packages are available?

This thread is an update/extension of the old [COLOR=#4b5970]A list of PHP Content Management Systems[/COLOR] thread that used to be stickied in the Scripts and Online Services forum. Since the thread was older, I decided to start fresh and update it as best I can, expanding some portions out to include more than just the php options.

That being said, I’d like to cover some additional items which should come up in conversations about CMSes to choose.

What language should the package run in?

A lot of this depends on your development team and/or server configuration. If you’ve got a heavy php experienced team, go with one of the php options. If you’ve got a heavily C# experienced teams, then one of the .net versions would probably be right for you.

The same goes for your server configuration. If you’ve got linux/apache running, then php is probably the way to go. If you’ve got windows servers, then one of the .net options may suit you best. (Yes, I know there are option which allow php to run on windows servers, and options to run .net on linux servers, but in terms of native performance, sticking with what your servers perform best will get the best results.)

If neither of these are factors for you (you’ve got no staff and no servers), then look at features for each product and see what best suits you. And also look at the communities supporting the products - the better the community, the better the chance you have of getting the help you need to get off the ground.

Free or paid?

Some of the packages available today come complete with an amazing array of features out of the box and are completely free, so you may be asking yourself why you would ever consider paying for a package. I have a couple reasons for you:[LIST=1]
[]Legality - a number of the packages are free for personal use but require a fee for corporate use. Yes, you can probably get away with it, but it doesn’t make it right/legal
[
]Support - A number of the packages available use paid support as a method of earning something out of their labor of love. These support packages will often mean you get email and/or telephone support, or first response to problems. Nothing you can’t live without but something to consider if you find you need a lot of help.
[]Features - some packages are limited in the free edition. This could mean a limited number of users, forced links back to the owner, watermarks, etc. Or it could be a feature you’d like to use (a calendar, task management, etc).
[
]It’s the right thing to do - those that build these packages can spend hundreds to thousands of hours getting these off the ground and if they make it free, they’re getting nothing out of it other than some possible grief from spouses/kids about spending so much time on what they’re working on. It’s a labor of love so they continure to do it, but showing them some love with a small donation is often appreciated, and allows them to buy some goodwill from their loved ones for spending so much time in their own little world.
[/LIST][rule=60%]Navy[/rule]
OK, we got that out of the way, so let’s talk about some resources you can use to figure out which package is right for you.

OpenSourceCMS - This resource allows you to use a demo package of a number of baseline CMS packages (at time of posting, there were 144 CMS/portal scripts available - however a number of these are various versions of the same package)

CMSMatrix - This resource allows you to choose various CMS products and will compare set features in each of them and gives you a rundown of each. Features include things like cost, server requirements, security, ease of use, management, built-in functionality, commerce and others. A valuable resource if you’re looking to compare apples to apples (or even apples to oranges)

CodePlex - while this site is heavily .net favored (which balances out openSourceCMS which is php), there are ratings and comments you can read for each package.

OK, with all of that being said, let’s list some of the available packages out there today (as of 17 December 2010).

This thread will be open for one week for additions/corrections. At that time, the thread will be closed and all comments will be edited into one cohesive thread and the rest cleared out and it will be locked and only edited by an Advisor on up.

PHP CMS Packages

There are FAR too many php CMS packages available, so this is a list of some of the packages as suggested by forum members. The list is in alphabetical order, so don’t read anything into the order they’re listed here - you’ll have to research it further. Some are open source, some are closed. Some are free, others are paid.

.net packages

These I have reviewed over the course of the past couple of years, so I’ve tried to comment as needed.

  • AtomSite
  • blogEngine.net - like wordpress, this once blog has been expanded upon until it can be used as a CMS
  • Composite C1
  • dotNetNuke - there are both free and commercial versions of this one
  • kooboo
  • mojoPortal - nice package but the only problem I have is there is one driving developer and there is some heavy coding involved.
  • N2 - a little clumsy to setup, no active community
  • Oxite - used on the mix sites
  • SiteCore - pricey but popular
  • Umbraco - has earned some Microsoft backing with an active community. MVC version being actively worked on now

Ruby on Rails Packages

Not a lot of conversations in the forums about RoR CMS packages, but I’ll list some here that I’ve heard about - but this is your warning that I know NOTHING about Ruby.

Packages in Other Languages

For those of you that are working outside the “common” technologies, here are other options in the other languages we talk about here in other areas of the forums. Other than Plone and Django (which are VERY popular), I can’t claim to their veracity - but it’s what I find via searching…

classic ASP

[LIST]
[]ASP VBScript CMS
[
]DMXReady CMS - both a (very) limited free version and a paid
[/LIST]ColdFusion

[LIST]
[]Mura
[
]Savvy
[*]Yet Another ColdFusion CMS
[/LIST]Perl

[LIST]
[]Bricolage
[
]Kumera
[*]Webapp
[/LIST]Python